No one famous on the train today...I could go and hang around the Houses of Parliament in my lunch hour...

No...I've got better things to do.

I did get presented to Prince Charles when I was a lad ie I stood in a line outside the newly opened 'Neath Civic Centre' and Prince Charles said to the lad next to me 'nice tie' and then he gave me a funny look.

Oh, I met Prince Charles once too. I was part of a ceremonial honor guard for him when he visited The College of William and Mary in Virginia founded 1693 (yes, that's the full official name - it's hell during football games: "Give me a "T"! Give me an "H"! Give me an "E"! Give me a "C"! . . .) back in 1981.

A friend of mine put on a suit during the Prince's visit, added an ear piece, and stuffed handkerchiefs in his pockets so they'd bulge and pretended to be security. He figured there were so many agencies, everyone would assume he was with somebody else. He got some funny looks, but nobody challenged him.

Ubi Dubius wrote:Oh, I met Prince Charles once too. I was part of a ceremonial honor guard for him when he visited The College of William and Mary in Virginia founded 1693 (yes, that's the full official name - it's hell during football games: "Give me a "T"! Give me an "H"! Give me an "E"! Give me a "C"! . . .) back in 1981.

A friend of mine put on a suit during the Prince's visit, added an ear piece, and stuffed handkerchiefs in his pockets so they'd bulge and pretended to be security. He figured there were so many agencies, everyone would assume he was with somebody else. He got some funny looks, but nobody challenged him.

That's a trifle alarming...he could have been a looney bent on bumping off Prince Charlie.

We've got plenty of spare Princes this time though.

It's a huge coincidence that we've both been chosen as honour guards for Charles isn't it?

black bart wrote:It's a huge coincidence that we've both been chosen as honour guards for Charles isn't it?

No, it just shows the level of esteem he's held in. None of the English or Scots wanted to do it so they drafted in the Welsh and Americans

I have no love of the royal family. I remember watching some event on TV with my family in the late '80s (probably a film premiere, royal variety show thing, or something like that) where the queen was greeting people, saying hello and shaking hands, and my Nan saying that most people didn't treat her with respect by bowing or curtseying low enough. The only people she praised were Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue.

Danika Patrick a while back, in her team's paddock area, not the autograph line, so that sort of counts as meeting her. I talked to her a bit about a woman in our town that was just breaking into the pro ranks of road racing.

I had lunch with Scott Ritter (weapons inspector, Iraq)once. He was visiting a faculty member on campus and we all went out for lunch. He had some interesting stories to tell about that whole portable bio-lab business.

I had Christmas dinner with Scott Wright, formerly a famous NY and LA radio DJ, now making wine in Oregon. We picked his brain all night for juicy stories about the famous band members he had met. Also stayed at his home in Malibu for a few days. They were filming Bay Watch on the beach below while I was down there doing some bouldering. They asked me if I could sort of stay off to one end of the rock so I didn't end up on camera.

My friend met Janis Joplin, Lenny Bruce, and a lot of people in that crowd, back in the 60's when he was a kid. They stayed at his (mom's) house. He said Janis liked to wear the long robe-like coats and was really one messed up young woman. Half-points?

black bart wrote:Prince Charles said to the lad next to me 'nice tie' and then he gave me a funny look.

You've still got it.

I met Berke Breathed at a book reading/signing once. Mike McPhee sat across the aisle from me on a loooooong bus ride back around 1980. Not a particularly pleasant fellow. Darren Puppa and one other eventual NHLer whose name escapes me were also on that trip. I saw Brad Park on a golf course from several hundred yards away. I was doing my land surveying thing and looking through a transit with really good optics - he had on shorts and I could see all the scars on his knees from all the surgeries. Looked like hamburger. I see the guvnor once in a while - we work for the same company. And Senator Collins walks down Main Street right past my house in the Memorial Day parade every year - last year she came over and shook my hand and said hello. At work, I recently received a form from author Bernd Heinrich with his autograph - he has finished building his cabin. My wife's old roommate from 20 years ago in Arizona is a news anchor for the Faux News affiliate out there - I've seen her facebook page, does that count?

There's a good chance I'll be on a first name basis with the next guvnor. My old Commissioner is running, and he's the dumbest one of the bunch. That particular statistic has a strong positive correlation with winning elections in the US, the exception being the current President. I'm sure we'll elect another moron next chance we get.